Maritimo 0 - Benfica 6 - A Leisurely trip to the Island

In an expected tough and difficult game, Benfica ended up winning convincingly and naturally, and are now league leaders, after Leixoes' loss this Monday. The game was anything but typical, and conditioned by a first half incident, that left Maritimo with 10 men, but what's fair, is fair, and Benfica was able to take advantage of the situation and get one of the easiest wins of the season so far.


Not too many surprises in the starting 11 for Quique

Moreira was in goal as expected. In the back it was Maxi, Luisao Sidnei and David Luiz.
In the midfield, Binya played in front of the defense while Katsouranis assumed the transition role along with Amorim and Reyes on the flanks. Aimar returned to the starting line up along side with Suazo.

Pretty straight forward line up, and you have to wonder if Yebda has now taken a secondary role in the midfield. He did train with limitations towards the end of the week, and that could have been the reason he did not start, but as I wrote in my preview, he was also left out of the starting 11 in the game against Setubal, at this point your guess is as good as mine.
Katsouranis' role on the field changes completely with Yebda in the midfield, as the Greek has to assume defensive responsibilities, perhaps Quique feels Katsouranis brings more to the team as a transition midfielder, something to be seen in the next couple games.
Aimar made his return to the line up but his lack of rhythm is apparent, nonetheless his movements on the field are always something that can help the team, let's hope he can remain healthy.

On to the game.

Benfica started well, composed, with possession and trying to find spaces in a field that was overcrowded in the middle, as a result of its narrower dimensions. It didn't take much for Benfica to give it's first warning to Maritimo as Suazo saw his open goal shot block by a Maritimo men in the very last milisecond. 1 minute later Amorim gave Marcos the chance to make the save of the night, and, has it turned out, his last of the night. In the 17th minute Marcos brought down Suazo, as Suazo was getting by him and towards the goal. The play originates from a heads up play by Katsouranis, who on a quick restart found Suazo behind the defense and in a privileged position, the Honduran touched the ball past Marcos and Marcos slammed into Suazo. The referee didn't hesitate to give the penalty and subsequent red, Reyes put Benfica ahead from the spot.
With 10 men, this early in the game, Maritimo was forced to make changes and abandon their game plan. Benfica on the other hand, didn't seem to let up and continued to manage the game, not in an overly aggressive way, but in a solid consistent way, continuing to be patient and trying to create more chances. It took Benfica a bit to adjust to the numerical advantage, but they soon found their rhythm again and would reach the security goal right before the half. A corner from the left side, Katsouranis flicks it at the first post, and Suazo heads the ball in at the second post. A trademark Katsouranis play, something that seemed rare all of last season. Into the locker room the teams went, and Benfica seemed very comfortable with the lead.

The second half brought more of the same Benfica, patient and methodical, never forcing and never over extending themselves. Maritimo on the other hand, tried to come forward using their speedy target man up front, but they never bothered Moreira, who had a very relaxed game in goal. Quique refreshed the midfield in the 57th minute, when Yebda came in for Binya and Katsouranis dropped into Binya's slot.
Benfica would once again make the scoreboard man work as Luisao found the net in the 66th minute, again from a dead ball situation.
So despite the numerical advantage, Maritimo played a solid game, succumbing only to setplays, as the two goals they suffered after going down a man, were from free kicks. After the third the Maritimo men seemed to have given up and Benfica was able to put the game on ice. Quique brought in Balboa for Amorim in the 68th minute, and Nuno Gomes in the 81st minute for Aimar. Gomes still came in with plenty of time to see Benfica score 3 more goals, two of them from his feet.
First Suazo in a typical Suazo play, gets the ball on the right side, makes an interior move and fires a hard shot past the keeper. The second was a play that originated from an insistence by Katsouranis by the touchline, in which the Greek finds Balboa in the box,who, with his back to the goal, is able to shield the ball and find Nuno Gomes in a frontal position to the goal. The final goal, also scored by Nuno Gomes, comes from the left side, as Reyes found David Luiz on an overlap, the Brazilian wins the touchline, with a move worthy of a world class winger, and finds Nuno Gomes at the second post for an easy tap in.

Perhaps an exaggerated result, but you have to take into consideration that Benfica has played against 10 in the past and found its own set of difficulties. Benfica also played down a man against Guimaraes for a long period of time, and was able to come out on top. Despite the score line being very lopsided, the behavior and attitude of the team needs to be noted.

The performance however, is far from being a true gauge of what the team can do, just like the performance against Olympiakos and Setubal. Instead, what needs to be taken from this performance is the team's attitude and response. After a week where talks about a change in goal, several injuries, and the anticipation of a tough away game, the team responded the best way with a convincing win, a win that proved to give Benfica the lead in the Liga Sagres, as Leixoes lost in Guimaraes this Monday.

Next is a game for the Portuguese cup against now second place Leixoes, away no less. Another opportunity for Benfica to stamp their authority in this season.